hair follicle

noun

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment see hair illustration

Examples of hair follicle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If the source of the DNA is a hair sample, any full hair follicles that include the root would be much more likely to contain high-quality DNA than just a strand of hair. —Anna Schecter, CBS News, 12 May 2026

Instead, flares are often shaped by a mix of internal biology and external triggers—some well understood, others still emerging—that influence how the hair follicle behaves and how the immune system responds. —Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 11 May 2026

The autoimmune disorder causes the body to attack its own hair follicles, which leads to baldness and patchy hair loss. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026

Healthy cells that divide frequently—such as those in the bone marrow, digestive tract, and hair follicles—can also be affected, leading to side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, immunosuppression, and hair loss. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hair follicle

• diabolical
• symbolical

Kids Definition

hair follicle

noun

: the tube-shaped sheath surrounding the lower part of a hair shaft

Medical Definition

hair follicle

noun

: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment